Something to live for
by ChaosFTW
Summary: Sasuke's tried and failed to get his revenge. Naruto tricks him into returning to Konoha. Sasuke however, has a few problems he hasn't addressed yet and the blond is way out of his depth... DISCONTINUED.
1. Who are you living for?

A/N: An abstract idea. Enjoy.

WARNINGS- Light shounen ai. A couple of sentences sound so so wrong… LOL.

ALSO- This could be spoileretic for some people unless they're keeping up with the manga. This is set in the future.

SPOILER: Itachi is dead and the truth has come out. Sasuke is looking to destroy Konoha in revenge for the 3rd Hokage killing his clan, but Pein has beaten him to it. (this is the current point in the manga minus Sasuke being there) SPOILER ENDS: So Sasuke's about to leave and think up another suitable punishment, but Naruto senses him and Sasuke's sanity goes AWOL. And thus a short FF was born :D

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"Prove it to me."

Shattered buildings. Hopes in tatters. Plans for revenge in shreds.

"Prove that I still have something to live for."

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Hardened blue eyes are locked on the cruel cold piece of metal pressed against soft, porcelain flesh.

"Put the kunai down." Onyx eyes are resolute, the message is clear. Both know that outright pleading is a waste of breath. _**No**__._ Wind blows tiny shards of sharp debris and smoke across the hillside. A battleground. A wasteland.

"_I came here for a reason. To fulfil my goal. It's been taken from me, just like everything else. Can't you let me have this one satisfaction? To know if…. Someone cares?"_

"I told you to forget me. This isn't about you. Why did you come here?"

"If you threaten my home… Then I'll make sure it _is _about me." Lips curve upwards into a smirk and sinister light dances in black coals. He's amused.

"You know as well as I do that this wasn't my doing. The only way for me to acquire my revenge is dead-" The effect is immediate and shock registers on a tanned face.

"B-but Itachi-!"

"We were wrong." A shadow is cast upon the missing nins face. The look of a person betrayed. "We were _all_ wrong." The shadow passes and the look is replaced by a steely resolve. Pale hands press the blade closer into his own neck and the blond fails to stifle a gasp. The sound of deranged chuckling fills the air. "You know you're rather pathetic Naruto." The boy in question flinches, having thought the same thing far too many times before. "I was planning to leave without a fuss, but you had to come and try your luck again. Do you think the story's going to end differently this time? Is that what you're hoping for? A _happy_ ending?"

"Don't. Do. Anything. Stupid." he's pleading now. The voice is firm and commanding but underneath it all there's a tone of desperation.

"Oh you're the only one being stupid here." Blue eyes darken as a trickle of blood rolls down Sasuke's neck. A pale finger finds its way to the spot, delicately brushing the droplet away and bringing a dainty pink tongue out to caress the digit. Eyes are now locked. The snake begins to speak. Soft, tantalising. Daring.

"You could stop me. Just say the words I want to hear and I'm yours. I'll come quietly. Just say the words I want to hear Naruto, and it all ends."

"I don't understand what you're asking of me Sasuke." The words are gruff and bitter and they do not shake, but are spoken calmly. However sooner or later both boys know that one of their façades will break. Sasuke looks down.

"You said it yourself- _there's always something to live for." _delicate lips on a perfect face tremble. Weakness. The turmoil inside was finally being brought to the surface. It's not the reaction either expected. "Tell me Naruto- _please,_ tell me what it is." The shorter teen steps forward, speaking with each stride, shortening the distance between them unbearably slowly. Sasuke remains motionless.

"You tried living for revenge-and that didn't work."

STEP

"You tried living for hatred, and that didn't work."

STEP

"What haven't you tried living for Sasuke?"

The raven flinches. He knows what's coming. He's thought it himself. But running from the truth is so much easier than facing it.

STEP

Onyx eyes close as the kunai begins to slip and the arm holding it begins to shake. The blond is practically upon him, and reaches up to whisper into the ravens ear.

"You still haven't tried living for _us_."

Onyx eyes widen and then slowly close as a sign of defeat. The kunai lands with a thud on the grass as Sasuke takes deep breaths to stem the steady flow of tears. Unseen, Naruto reaches into his back pocket and takes out his own blade, placing it directly above his own chest. The raven looks up as the blond steps away. The penny drops. Coals widen in anger, and though he will not admit it, surprise.

He's been tricked.

The blonds face is deadly serious, one hand holds the kunai, poised to strike and the other is outstretched for the raven to grasp. A clear choice.

"So prove to me you have nothing to live for."

A/N: Just a clever little thing I thought up… I think I will continue this. I have a whole second part all up here :taps brain: It's a possible multichapter I suppose….

Oh and in case anyone was confused- Basically Naruto is threatening to kill himself so Sasuke will realise how much Naruto and the village means to him.


	2. Jump

A/n; My writing style changes daily. The likelihood is these chapters are going to be very different from the first, so its possible they wont read very well as a whole. Remember originally this was going to be a oneshot so please forgive the abrupt change in pace and style.

Blue eyes slid across to the raven who sat hunched over with both elbows on the table, his steaming ramen left untouched in front of him. It was worrying. Apart from barely speaking a sentence since Naruto had dragged him back, Sasuke had refused to take even the tiniest bite of any of his meals. Most disturbing of all was the fact the raven had not objected when Tsunade sama had placed him under Naruto's care, leading the blond to think something was seriously wrong with his best friend.

"Sasuke- you have to eat." Naruto told him, gentle but firm. The raven shot a glare at the younger boy and shoved the offending bowl away from him.

"So you eat it. I'm not hungry." The blond pursed his lips and looked hard at Sasuke.

"I brought you back so that you _wouldn't_ die. I will not loose you because you refuse to eat your dinner." Coal eyes rolled.

"Hn. You couldn't stop me anyway. I'm here because you played a dirty trick. I could leave at anytime like."

"But you wont."

"But I could."

"You wont though."

"_Try me_."

Blue eyes burned into obsidian, and the tension in the air was so thick that Ayame was tempted to dive for cover in case a brawl broke out, but the next words that slipped from a pair of tanned lips were more gentle than either expected.

"You _wanted_ to come back and we both know it." Sasuke did not reply, but stabbed the table with his chopsticks moodily, a sadistic smile creeping upon his face upon hearing a satisfying _crack._ "Sasuke, you _must_ eat. You're too thin, even for a guy with your kind of metabolism… I can see your ribs for Christ's sake!"

"I'm not hungry." was the monotone response. The blond stood up, the glimmers of anger beginning to surface.

"Why are you so depressed? What have I done that's so bad that you want to punish me _and_ yourself in this way?!" Sasuke sighed, discarding the broken chopsticks and easing himself off the stool, throwing down a few yen to Ayame out of courtesy, despite the uneaten meal in front of him. He shoved his hands in both pockets and began to trudge out of the bar, with Naruto's indignant yells following him.

"Hey bastard! We're supposed to be together at all times! Baa chans orders!"

"Shut up already, you sound like my wife." the raven muttered, as Naruto ground his teeth in irritation, trotting after the raven.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Where are you going? Sasuke answer me!!!" he all but bellowed down the cobbled street.

"_Away from you."_ the raven spat back, sending Naruto The _Look._ The Look was a speciality of Sasuke's that he had been able to perfect in all those years away from Konoha. It could send enemies running for the hills and fan girls screaming for their mommies, so when Sasuke gave you The Look most people had the decency to step back. But of course, Naruto having the IQ of an ape, decided to disobey this sacred tradition and meet the challenge head on.

"Fine! That's just peachy Sasuke! You go back into the emo corner and brood about the shittiness of your life and about Orochimaru's hideout being "so much better than this" because I've had it _up to here_ with your crap!"

Sasuke did not even flinch but walked away, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were turning white to prevent him from retaliating, leaving Naruto to stalk off in the opposite direction and take out his frustration any way he could. "Any way he could" translating as kicking the nearest object in the vicinity, which happened to be a 3 tonne,2 0 ft tall oak tree. Now I wonder who's gonna win that particular battle (!) Suffice to say after gaining a rather painful toe, Naruto resorted to a much less painless approach of anger management- plucking out a tin can from the nearest bin and kicking it along the path, feeling satisfied at the grating sound it produced.

"_Stupid, stubborn Sasuke, getting me so riled up.."_

_**Kick.**_

"_Stupid me for caring too much about him"_

_**Kick.**_

"_Stupid me for thinking about him all the time."_

_**Kick**_

"_See I'm doing it now. Even when the bastard pisses me off beyond my limits, he still finds a way to worm himself into my thoughts. Teme."_

_**Kick**_

"_I wonder where he is now…"_

_**Kick**_

"_I've got a chakra thread linking us so I know he hasn't left the village…"_

_**Kick**_

"_Yet."_

_**Kick**_

"_No Naruto, don't think that! He was just being his usual teme self, and trying to make you angry. He wouldn't really run off."_

_**Kick**_

"_Would he?"_

_**Kick**_

Naruto stopped walking and the tin can clattered down the road and fell silent. Naruto closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, feeling into the dark corners of his mind, trying to find the chakra link between him and the raven. _"I have to find him, before he does something stupid again."_ Blue eyes snapped open and his head tuned towards the faces of the Hokage's. Their spot. Their favourite hang out when they were both part of Team 7.

"_Trust you to be there…"_

Without another moments hesitation he raced off towards the statues.

"_**Don't you dare jump…"**_

T.B.C…

A/N: Evil aren't I?

Review and I continue…


	3. Bastard

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. He was sitting there. Just _sitting there _serenely, as if nothing had happened, the moonlight casting silver beams of light onto his face. Naruto calmed his hammering heart, somehow unwilling to disrupt the scene of peace with yelling or noise and quietly walked over to the other boy and sat beside him. Sasuke broke the silence.

"Hn, so you couldn't stay away." he stated smirking as the blond gave him a glare

"You bastard- I thought… I thought you'd…"

"Topped myself?" Sasuke suggested half amusedly. "Come on, I can think of more original ways to die than chucking myself off the Hokage monument."

"I bet you can." was the dry reply, and yet somehow Naruto's words conveyed a sense of relief within them. He wasn't here to die. He wasn't staring at Konoha village as some kind of last testimony to his past. For whatever reason Sasuke had come here tonight- it wasn't to pursue some insane act of destruction, it was to find some kind of peace at a place that resurfaced happy memories. Azure eyes surveyed the scene of chaos that was Konoha village. Here and there places had managed to escape Pain's wrath, (the Gods had smiled upon Naruto when they had chosen to spare his favourite Ramen stall.), but most places were not so lucky. In the daytime people scurried around, repairing buildings and putting scaffolding up, but of a night time the ruined Konoha became a ghost town. Buildings and rubble created ominous silhouettes, whilst rare lights in the undamaged buildings created a soft glow around the destruction, like fireflies on the surface of a lake.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" came the soft words from a pale pair of lips. Naruto turned incredulous eyes to his right and stared at the raven in disgust.

"People have _died_ here." he said, his voice shaking. "People could _still_ be dying beneath those buildings. How in ANY way is that beautiful?" The ravens eyes were silent and unreadable.

"You seem to forget that I desired the destruction of Konoha myself." Naruto looked taken aback. "To me… This is peaceful." The other boys blue eyes hardened and a steely anger glinted in them.

"Don't fuck around with me Sasuke. I'm sick and tired of being manipulated by you."

"then why let me do it? Why let yourself get so worked up over someone like me? A missing nin? A traitor of Konoha? Or am I missing something?"

"You're much more than that and you know it." Naruto replied fiercely.

"much more than that to who?" The blond quietened in thought.

"To Sakura, to the village…" silence followed as Sasuke's expectant look slowly slid off his face to be replaced by a look of deep disappointment. "and… Me." Naruto finished in a whisper. Obsidian eyes snapped back up and the telltale smirk was back in place. He got up and brushed off his trousers, ignoring Naruto's confused look. "Hey where're you going?"

"Back to yours." Sasuke replied nonchalantly shoving his hands back into his pocket, preparing to jump down the monument, but upon seeing Naruto about to follow him the raven sent a glare across to him. "And _you_ can leave me alone. I'm hardly gonna drown myself in your bathtub am I?" The blond closed his mouth, obviously displeased with being given the brush off, but respecting the other boys need for space.

"If you run, I'll know bastard." A smirk was his only response, as the raven disappeared into the night.

A/n: Oh come on. As if I'd kill him off. This is gonna be slash after all. Oh and you will be pleased to know I know exactly where I'm going, except for the very end where I risk putting them OOC… We're looking at about 11/12 chapters overall I think… But don't worry, once I have an idea I keep at it. Hey I may even make fanart who knows lol. Oh and before I forget- you can have the next chapter as well cos this one's just a bridge :D Love me, I work hard.


	4. Fight

A/N: You wanted longer? Oh you'll GET longer XD

And so the Sasunarusasu begins. MUAHAHAHA

Warnings- I pretty much just said it… :S

When Naruto returned to his apartment later that night he found an empty packet of rice on the kitchen side and chopsticks balanced delicately on a bowl that had not been there when he left. Naruto grinned. Finally he was getting somewhere with the taciturn raven. Approaching his bedroom door quietly he knocked gently. Receiving no response he opened the door, a soft orange glow illuminating the darkness beyond and outlining the Uchiha's sleeping silhouette. He slowly advanced towards the bed until he was standing over the sleeping boy, feeling words stir in his throat.

"This is really awkward to say to you Sasuke, but… I feel like I owe it to you." A hand reached out to twirl a strand of raven hair in his fingers. If it was a nervous habit or a reassuring sensation, Naruto wasn't sure. "I just wanted to say thanks. You made an effort for me today and I… I appreciate it." He smiled slightly, his voice dropping to a mere whisper as he ran a hand through the soft silk curtain, relishing the feeling of individual strands tickling his fingers. "Thank God you're asleep and can't hear me saying this." Unbeknownst to him Sharingan red eyes were glowing in the dark, drinking in every word and sensation those hands gave to him. "I'm glad that I'm finally getting my best friend back." the blond admitted, except this time, his words were answered by a cold sneer.

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy to get the old Sasuke Uchiha back?" Naruto froze in his administrations and took his hand away as if it had been burned, as the raven sat up to glare disconcertingly at Naruto with glowing ember eyes.

"Y-you bastard! You were asleep!" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I've been training under Orochimaru for _3 years_, do you really think I couldn't sense your chakra signature?" With his superb vision, the raven could tell Naruto was blushing at his patronising words.

"Teme…"

"Baka." the raven shot back and then continued in amore serious tone "I'm not the same as before… The part of me that considered Konoha as a home and you as a brother _died_. A long time ago." Naruto regarded the raven with steady eyes as the flickering street lights that strayed through the darkened window cast menacing shadows across the Uchiha's face. "I've changed. I'm not the Sasuke you used to know." The blond rolled his eyes and scoffed at the ravens words.

"so you're telling me if we could go back, and relive The valley of the End again- you'd have the heart to kill me this time?" seeing the raven about to assent in pure defiance, Naruto quickly cut him off "So you mean to tell me you could actually murder me?" Sasuke's fists clenched and his open mouth closed into a twisted scowl. "An innocent life, Sasuke. Someone who wished you no harm- someone who wanted to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life. Me. Unconscious at your feet. Totally defenceless." An expression of pain flitted onto the ravens faced but he dismissed it as quickly as it came, as Naruto kneeled in front of the Uchiha so they were level , tilting his chin upwards to make dark opals meet sapphires. "Could you honestly take a life in that way Sasuke? With so little _honour_?" Sasuke looked down, eyes downcast and fists unclenching. His whole posture- defeated. _No._ _Of course I couldn't_. Naruto smiled, an easy, true smile, as a joyful energy danced in sky blue pools. "Then in my eyes… You haven't changed at all." Sasuke's hand came up so fast Naruto couldn't even see it before it had hit. The next thing he knew he was in an arm lock, pressed awkwardly against the apartment wall. He could taste the layers of filth and grime on the white washed surface and grimaced.

"You still don't understand." Sasuke hissed, putting more pressure on the shoulder joint, making Naruto visibly wince. The blond exhaled heavily and tried to keep Sasuke talking. That was the whole point of bringing Sasuke back- getting to know him again. "Then… Make me. Make me see it. Make me understand." Naruto felt the grip on his arm lessen slightly, as if Sasuke was preparing to say something meaningful. "It's like… When you take someone's life…" Naruto flinched. "When you see the light in that persons eyes going out, no matter who it is… Friend, enemy, hated rival… A part of your innocence dies with them." although it felt painful, Naruto turned his head just enough to catch sight of Sasuke's face. Pale, withdrawn, haunted. "… Ever since Orochimaru took me… I've lost part of that innocence. I'm… Darker than before." He smirked and released Naruto's arm who gasped in pain and discomfort as the blood rushed back into the limb. "But I don't suppose you understand me. You never have done." The effect was immediate. A look of shocked hurt rushed onto the blonds whiskered face and he straightened up, his stance demanding respect from the other.

"We both know that's a lie." He looked up into obsidian eyes, a mixture of anger and inner turmoil hidden beneath a cool exterior. "In fact I'd bet my life that no one understands you _more_ than me Sasuke." The boy in question scoffed in disbelief and turned away, meaning to walk out of the room but Naruto's harshly spoken words stopped him.

"And you seem to have forgotten!" The older boy stopped in his tracks at the vicious tone, his head turned slightly to the side, indicating he had been startled and was willing to listen. Naruto sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a dog eared photograph of Team 7. At first glance it seemed fine, Sakura was smiling, Kakashi's eyes were upturned into small U's of delight and the young Naruto was scowling at something on his right. But there was something very wrong with the corner of the picture: Empty space. Nothing to indicate a face had ever been there, save a slight burn mark that slightly crumpled it. Naruto reached into his other pocket and took out a singed, curled bit of paper and waved it in front of the ravens face who looked at it in disbelief.

"You're not the only one who knows what it feels like to have your naivety ripped away from you." the blond whispered fiercely. Sasuke could only stare as Naruto threw what was left of his image at the ravens feet. "This is what you wanted right?" Silence greeted his statement. "You were so eager to be gone, I thought I'd do you a favour and erase you from the picture completely." Still gaining no reaction, the blond pulled the ravens night shirt collar so they were nose to nose. "So how does feel to be unwanted? Huh?! Because _I_ know what it feels like Sasuke! I've lived my whole _LIFE_ being unwanted and a burden to people. Despite all the things you've been through- You've _**never **_had to suffer that! There was always someone there that you could turn to!" Sasuke had closed his eyes, as the relentless onslaught of hatred continued. "And when I finally thought I had found an equal, a friend who I could share my feelings with- he _betrays _me, and then LEAVES me _**dying in the rain**_! So don't you **DARE**. Don't you **DARE **tell me I don't understand what it means to feel pain or to loose something precious because 3 years ago, I lost one of the most precious people in the world to me!" Breathless and slightly dizzy, the blond stepped back, feeling 3 years worth of pent up anger rolling off him in waves. Wordlessly Sasuke bent down and picked up the remains of the photograph, holding it out for the blond to take. Naruto shook his head and pointed to his bedside table, where a pristine, polished framed photo of team 7 stood. Sasuke's brain couldn't comprehend it. Naruto wouldn't meet the others severe gaze and walked over to the other side of the room, to caress the photo frame reverently, longing evident in his eyes as he spoke.

"Destroying team 7 was your dream, not mine. The photo you're holding is your own copy." Sasuke swallowed and looked down. The blond took a deep shuddering breath before turning to face Sasuke with a determined gaze, holding the photograph. "I never would." he told him fiercely. "Do you understand that? I NEVER WOULD."

"You care too much about your dreams." Sasuke replied simply. "You refuse to give them up, even when they're long gone. We will never be able to go back to being Team 7 again like you want us to. I've changed. You've changed. You'll just end up hurting yourself and everyone else if you try to mould us into something we no longer are." Naruto shook his head

"You're wrong. You're living proof you're wrong." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Explain." Naruto chuckled softly.

"I was told so many times that going after you was a waste of time. Jiraiya, Tsunade, you, you all said it. And yet here you are with me, despite everything. Because I never gave up on my dreams. I knew that someday you would acknowledge me, and everything we share and when that day came, that would be the day you would come home. And I know my dream to reunite Team 7 will come true as well."

"Things change Naruto. We can't rewrite history and some things can't be forgiven, you've proved that tonight. You hate me for doing this to you and if we become team 7 again- who knows what'll happen?" Naruto smiled and stepped closer, unconsciously allowing his fingertips to brush the other boys in a reassuring gesture.

"Some things never change Sasuke. You're still the pessimistic bastard you always were, and I'm still the hyperactive knucklehead who's hell bent on bringing you to your senses, the difference between us is that I believe the future is written and you seem to believe it's dealt. We carve our own paths in life Sasuke; just as you chose to go to Orochimaru and I chose to save you all those years ago, we can choose to change our own destiny today and transform team 7 into something new. Maybe even more powerful than before."

"… And if I choose to leave anyway?" Sasuke asked quietly. Naruto looked taken aback for a moment before his lips twisted into a bitter smile.

"…So, you wont be convinced. It was stupid of me to hope I suppose…." he closed his eyes and felt for the chakra link in his mind that linked them, and snapped it straight down the middle. Without opening his eyes the blond turned away, replacing the photograph back on the table once more so he wouldn't have to watch his best friend walk out of his life a second time. When he spoke his words were painful and constricted. "Shut the door on your way out. I wont stop you." Sasuke looked searchingly at the shorter boy for a second before hesitatingly grabbing the door handle.

"And… What will you do once I'm gone?" Naruto smiled sourly

"If you're that unhappy about staying here then I'll wait, just as I always do. I'll wait for you to come to your senses, and if that fails I'll go and find you all over again."

A soft click was heard as the door swung shut, and Naruto spun round in alarm. "_He wouldn't have left surely…" _He let out a relieved breath at the sight of the raven still standing there who was eyeing him as if he was properly seeing the blond for the first time.

"You'd do that? You'd put your dreams on hold for the sake of my happiness?" Naruto shrugged.

"If necessary." Sasuke looked doubtful and shook his head.

"That's not the Uzumaki Naruto I know. The Naruto know would've been fighting tooth and claw to stop me walking through this door."

"People change." the blond replied quietly. "I've learned that fighting doesn't always get you what you want. Fighting for what you want, wont always stop it being taken away, and fighting your heart wont stop what you feel being any less true."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes

"What are you talking about?"

"Something you wouldn't understand." Naruto replied softly. Sasuke's eyes misted and for those few moments, Naruto would've given anything to hear those precious thoughts running through his best friends head. Without another word the raven turned round and flopped back onto the bed, closing his eyes and letting the Sharingan dissapear. "H-hey what're you doing?" exclaimed the indignant blond.

"Sleeping I'm tired." A hopeful light danced in the blonds eyes.

"… Then… You're staying? Indefinitely?"

"Indefinitely." Sasuke confirmed, letting a small smile grace his lips when he heard the camp bed beside him creak with a certain blonds weight. Their argument was over. Their feelings were out in the open now. Well… _Almost_ all their feelings. Sasuke willed his exhausted brain to still as the confusing emotions he had suffered with for years began to surface, remembering Naruto's speech.

"fighting your heart wont stop what you feel being any less true"

_Maybe this means I __**do**__ have a chance after all. Maybe it's not just one sided… I hope so… Naruto… Do you feel it too after all?_

A.N: Don't worry we'll get to the proper Sasunaru before my birthday in June I promise :P Just beware- I have exams and h/w I'm drowning in. Don't kill me if I fail to update. And with regards to updating my other ff's- does anyone out there know how make a pc recognise a memory stick after it starts believing it's a disk drive? Any help appreciated merci.


	5. Nightmares

A/N: I really struggled with this chapter, so sorry if it sucks… There are just too many ideas crowding my brain at the moment and exams are liquidising my social life. My sense of creativity has gone out the window… But you can have some suggestive stuff in this cus Sasuke is a closet pervert ;P Oh and thanks to all my lovely reviewers, i live for your feedback ^-^ My next goal? Double figures! XD

"_**Stay away from him!" **__Red eyes glowed in the darkness of his dream, but they were not the spirals of the Sharingan, nor the crimson bloodshot slits of the nine tails. The blond shivered. A gengutsu? But who was casting it? To his horror he felt he could not look left or right, and his head and eyes were forcibly glued to that endless evil glare._

"_What's happened to my body?" he wondered, slightly afraid. It was too realistic to be a dream. The colours and the raw sense of tingling fear were too vivid even for the blonds wild imagination. The voice spoke again, seeming to come from every corner of the space. It was not a room, just a desolate expanse of inky black. Timeless and unending._

Sasuke watched the blond toss and turn beneath the thin sheets of the camp bed, but was frozen to his pillow.

"Do I go to him? Will it seem weird? Is it even safe to wake up a person when they're dreaming? Or is that sleepwalking?" From his inner ramblings Sasuke could only determine one thing- It turned out he didn't have an answer for everything. Approaching the blonds side cautiously he prodded him gently

"Naruto?" The only answers he got were a couple of whimpers and a few mutters as the blond tried to fight off his imaginary demons. Sasuke continued shaking him but it was useless. Naruto was dead to the world.

"_**Just let the Uchiha go. You're only in his way."**_

"Who are you?" Naruto cried, thankful that his thoughts and vocal cords still responded to his commands.

"**Let him go. He doesn't belong with you!"**

Naruto tried to hold onto the vision as his mind began to clear but the pull of reality became too strong, along with the insistent shaking on his shoulders. The only thing he could hold in his head was a single word, a single thought-

"_Sa-su-ke_." The raven recoiled in shock, feeling a blush grace his normally pale cheeks upon hearing his name, yet despite all the warnings in his brain saying- "go back to bed" he couldn't tear his eyes away. The blonds cheeks were reddened and he was tossing and turning around in, what Sasuke had originally assumed, discontent, but after hearing the blond moan his name like that… The ravens blush doubled. Could he really have been so foolish to have mistaken a nightmare for…? Sasuke's embarrassing question was answered as blue eyes snapped open and Naruto fell out of the camp bed with a yell of confusion. The elder let out a sigh of relief or perhaps disappointment. It really was an ordinary nightmare.

"_Don't get ahead of yourself." _Sasuke reminded his hormones, willing his teenage mind to stop fantasising.

Naruto sat with his head in his hands, droplets of sweat drying on his body as he tried to calm his breathing.

"_It was so real…" _he thought, still badly shaken. Sasuke (after getting his head back together of course) approached the younger boy cautiously

"Hey… You O.K dobe?" The blond gave a weak smile

"I-I'm fine. Just a bad dream. Go back to bed Sasuke." The raven shot him a doubtful look before climbing back into Naruto's bed, regretting the fact he couldn't take a cold shower at this time of night. In the silence of the room the only sound was the crickets from outside and the faint whistle of the wind but neither boys could get back to sleep. Naruto was too scared that the so called "nightmare" would return and Sasuke's mind was too awake to shut down again. The only other option? TALK.

"I'm going to see Sakura tomorrow." the blond stated into the inky darkness. "Do you want to come with me?" Silence followed the invitation and under the covers the ravens fists were clenched. Of course he did not hate the pinkette. She was a good team mate back in the day, but right now he could not pretend to be on completely friendly terms with her. A love rival is a love rival.

"Even if I don't, you'll force me." he replied bluntly, turning over to eye the blond. Naruto chuckled and grinned back.

"Damn straight I will. It'll do you good to get out the apartment."

"Hn. Go to sleep dobe."

"Teme." Naruto shot back automatically, before climbing back into the camp bed.

--------------------

_Time skip- the next morning/afternoon_

"Hey Sakura chan!" the blond yelled, sprinting up the road to meet the pinkette. She was currently using her immense strength to lift a few scaffolding beams into place, and still had 2 tucked neatly under her arm, so when she turned round the pole very nearly hit Naruto's head. Thankfully the blonds ninja skills _just _saved him from a trip to the infirmary. Sasuke smirked. Typical ursuratonkachi.

"Naruto." Sakura greeted, "Sasuke kun!" she added, after seeing the brooding Uchiha lurking in the shadows. "Thank goodness you're out of Naruto's apartment, I was beginning to think you were a vampire!" she joked smiling at him. In reply Sasuke simply "hn'ed" and turned his head away. Sakura, who was used to the brunettes volatile moods rolled her eyes in amusement, something had obviously got the Uchiha's knickers in a twist (1) "So Naruto, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked her green eyes twinkling "You're not here to ask me out on another date are you?" Blue eyes twinkled at the suggestion as a mischievous grin spread across the blonds face.

"well actually no but now that you mention it-" Sasuke interrupted with a rather loud cough, glaring at the pair, who jerked in surprise having forgotten he was there.

"If you've got nothing better to do than _flirt _then I'm going home." he snapped, and before the others could make a single sound of protest, he was already making the hand seals that would teleport him back to Naruto's apartment. In a few seconds he was gone, flames flickering round where his feet had previously been. Naruto sighed.

"Sorry Sakura chan, he's been really moody recently."

"Oh, don't worry, that's just our typical Sasuke kun. Can you imagine how creepy it would be if he suddenly started acting all happy? It would be like Lee shaving his eyebrows!" Naruto chuckled happily as Sakura called to Tenten to take over her shift for a little while. The brunette huffed in annoyance, muttering something about hopeless romantics but complied, allowing the two to stop in at Ichiraku's and order a bowl of ramen each.

"So what did you want to see me about?" Sakura asked Naruto, her tone turning serious. Naruto looked slightly embarrassed as a blush appeared

"Well…It's probably nothing-"

"But?"

"Well…. I had this nightmare…" A tick appeared on the pinkette's forehead

"I swear to God Naruto, if this is about the man eating ramen again-"

"No!" Naruto defended, holding his hands up in protest. "This is… This is about Sasuke." Sakura's expression went from angry to curious, knowing that if it was about Sasuke, the blond wasn't joking around.

"What about him?"

"Well… Me and him had a talk last night-"

"What about?" Sakura interjected, her eyebrow raising narrowly close to her hairline but Naruto waved off her worries with a hand

"Nothing you need to worry about, just a little fight, you know us. Anyway the point is afterwards, I had this really weird nightmare…"

"Weird how?"

"It… Was too realistic." the blond admitted. The puzzled look was back on the girls face.

"Isn't that the whole point of a nightmare?"

"No, it's…" the blond struggled with himself as he tried to explain "Well, put it this way- when you wake up from nightmare, you don't usually remember it right?"

"…Yes…"

"Well I can still remember every second." Naruto stated, his voice low and serious

"Which means it was your conscious mind that was experiencing the dream." Sakura muttered, her emerald eyes clouding over in worry as her brain put the pieces together. Naruto was slightly unnerved by her unusually sombre expression.

"What's with the face?" Sakura pressed her fingertips together and her eyes were focussed on something Naruto couldn't see.

"Dreams… Are experienced only in the subconscious Naruto. In the sleeping mindset a dream is caused by sparks of electrons jumping across the synapses from having too much stress or strong emotion in the body. (2)"

"So?"

"It's meant to be a weak experience, barely registering in the conscious mind so when you wake up it usually slips away. Seeing as you claim to remember every moment, yours hasn't, and that's worrying."

"Why?" the blond asked, feeling dread prickle at the back of his mind.

"It means your "nightmare" registered in your conscious mind and left an imprint. A strong one."

"…?" Seeing Naruto's look of perturbed bewilderment, Sakura decided to put him out of his misery and be straight with him.

"That wasn't a nightmare Naruto. It was a gengutsu." she finished gravely twiddling the chopsticks in her hands. The blond closed his eyes, his worst fears confirmed.

"But how-?"

"I don't know." Sakura replied, grabbing the other boy by the shoulders "You have to tell someone about this!" Naruto drew back in alarm

"Sakura let go! It's just a gengutsu, nothing physical. How bad can it be?"

"Because a gengutsu never did anyone any harm (!)" Sakura scathed, threatening to lift the blond off the stool his was sitting on. "You are going to tell someone and that's final!"

"Don't you get it Sakura?" Naruto asked exasperatedly "They'll blame Sasuke!"

"…"

"They'll think it's him, and they'll throw him in Konoha prison!" Sakura's hands fell to her sides and she sank down onto the stool, seemingly withering away into herself. The blond immediately felt bad and laid a hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off in anger. "I _will_ see someone about it." he promised "But first, I need to try and deal with it myself O.K?"

"You're risking your sanity." Sakura replied bluntly.

"I know. But it's either Sasuke or my sanity, so it's too late either way." A faint trace of a smile crept upon the pinkette's face.

"Be careful Naruto."

"I will Sakura chan."

The blond turned to walk away from the ramen stall but Sakura's quiet words stopped him.

"Naruto… What was your nightmare about?" the boy sighed and turned back to face her. His fists were clenched.

"… There was a voice… It told me to give up on Sasuke." he replied softly. Sakura pursed her lips and draped one leg over the other in a businesslike fashion.

"Then maybe instead of wasting your time here with me, you should be over there with him, trying to work out what this means."

"what it means?"

"It doesn't matter if it's a dream or gengutsu, either way it's trying to tell you something important." Naruto blinked at Sakura's logic and smiled

"O.K."

-------------------------------------------------

*smacks head on table* This is how dumb I am- I'm forgetting that this fic is now Sasunaru. I completely forgot to change the genre to romance until recently.

(1) Muahaha, I FINALLY got to use this phrase on Sasuke! Yes! *does happy dance*

(2) Don't you dare quote me on the sciency stuff… Just leave me alone *hides from analytical readers*

And review if you liked it. I hate this chapter. But homework is killing me like I said so I'm suffering from mild writers block.


	6. God Hates Me

A/N: Oh wow guys, this story just shot to my second most reviewed fic ever :O *huggles all reviewers allerters and favers* You make me write ^-^ And I was planning to save this chapter for a while, but I'm enjoying writing this so much I figured there was no point in making you wait any more when I'm already ahead of schedule.

"Sasuke teme, where are you?" Naruto yelled opening the front door of his apartment and stepping into the shade.

"In here." Sasuke's voice responded a few rooms in. Naruto sighed and unzipped his jacket, tossing it onto the nearby sofa and striding through into their shared bedroom. Sasuke was lounging on the bed, reading what looked like a very thick, boring novel with the curtains closed and the light on. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You really will turn into a vampire if you hide away in the dark forever." Sasuke shrugged.

"Hiding away in here is better than socialising with that lot out there." The blond made his way over to the raven and perched himself on the end of the bed

"Why is it better? Why do you have something against Sakura?" Sasuke turned away

"I'm just not comfortable being stared at like some sort of freak show by the people I used to know." Naruto stared

"They don't think that."

"Yes they do. You just choose not to see it. You _choose _not to look, because when you were a kid you learned the only thing you could do was pretend everything was alright or you'd have a nervous breakdown." the blond was grinding his teeth now, and broke eye contact with the ravens formidable glare. "Am. I. Right?"

"Yes." Naruto confirmed, his voice strained. "But this isn't about me. So don't change the subject- this is your problem that you have to fix. You have to repair the damage you've done to your reputation yourself." Sasuke turned away

"Can't I just have some peace Naruto? Just for a little while?" Naruto blinked but shook his head resolute.

"You have to face this." Sasuke merely crossed his arms and scowled, directing his dark look out of the window. "But… If you want… We can do something together. Just us, you know? Until you're ready to face Konoha properly." Sasuke smirked and looked back down at his book

"If you insist." he replied nonchalantly making Naruto smile.

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."

--------------------------------------------

The 2 best friends sat on top of the Hokage monument in the beautiful fiery glow of the sunset, necking down sake that Naruto had somehow managed to acquire. By now the raven was very tipsy, having little experience with alcohol, and Naruto (not to be outdone by his longstanding rival) had taken advantage of his high tolerance levels to put a whole lot more into his own system. In effect, both were now very much out of it, and were very, very talkative.

"D'you remember S'uke, back in today, when we hated each other?"

"Oh yeah." Sasuke agreed, gesticulating wildly with his hands "We were real fucked up back then weren'we?"

"Y'can say that again. I mean d'you remember the day we got put onto team 7?"

"Heh, yeah, we all hated each others guts in some way, you loved Sakura and hated me, she loved me and hated you and I hated both of you and didn't love anything. A real proper fucked up love triangle."

"Yeah but the way we lost our first kisses, that was even more warped." A silence fell suddenly as a sacred taboo between the 2 boys was breached.

"… You still remember that?" Sasuke asked quietly, his drunken voice disappearing for a few seconds.

"of course I did." Naruto replied grinning nervously and scratching the back of his head, his subconscious mind sending a mild wave of anxiety washing over him at the awkward turn the conversation had taken. "You always remember your first kiss! Even if it was with a bastard like you." Sasuke smirked and laid an arm across the blonds shoulder

"Yeah… I remember you tasted of miso." Naruto chuckled lightly, accepting the unusual contact as a side effect of the alcohol.

"I… I don't remember that. I think I was too preoccupied with choking." The ravens heart beat a little faster as he realised the blond had not thrown his shoulder off and he turned his head to the side to look at the other boy. Neither spoke, but both could feel the sudden chemistry that was sparking between them, and the look in coal eyes meeting ocean pools spoke volumes.

"_You wanna… Try it again?"_

It wasn't tentative. It wasn't graceful, and it certainly wasn't particularly well coordinated.

To put it simply it was tonsil tennis at its fiercest.

Naruto had Sasuke pinned underneath him, busy ravaging his mouth whilst pale, long slender fingers combed through blond locks. The ravens dark eyes were unfocussed, his heart, body and soul succumbing to the sweet sensations of pleasure coursing through his body like a wonderful fire.

"_I've waited so long to feel this." _

The blonds hands were caressing every inch of his skin as sloppy kisses were pressed against his neck and jaw line.

**Maybe it was fate.**

"_Please God let this never end."_

Wordlessly they took off, both boys' minds in a haze of alcohol and hormone induced numbness, stopping only occasional to share a desperate and passionate kiss that kept the fires in their bodies burning. They ignored their drunken, stumbling footsteps and the stale air that followed them in an endless cloud.

**Maybe God hated him.**

"_Let him love me like this forever." _Sasuke pleaded in his mind, as Naruto struggled to find his apartment keys whilst simultaneously pressing Sasuke up against his door and massaging a knee in between the other boys legs. The raven groaned unwillingly and gripped the blonds shoulders tighter. Where and how the hell had Naruto learned to do that?

**Maybe he was asking for too much.**

Just as the key slipped into the lock after much fumbling, the unthinkable happened. Naruto's clouded eyes lost all focus and his eyelids slid shut, as his legs gave way. Thankfully Sasuke's superb reflexes (even under the effects of alcohol) were enough to stop the blonds head meeting the concrete, and he held the lifeless body in his arms for a few moments, letting the shock and anger set in. _The dobe… Passed out_! If Sasuke were any less of a man he'd burst into tears at his terrible bad luck. As it was he sighed and picked the younger boy up into his arms bridal style. Giving one final prayer to the seemingly non existent God that had failed him so dismally tonight, he entered the gloom of the apartment.

"_Please God… Just let him remember this in the morning."_

A/N: Well Naruto was hardly going to snog Sasuke sober was he? Alcohol is a great excuse to make 2 hormonally charged teenage boys loose control of themselves, and I know I wrote Naruto as seme in this. Personally I think he suits both seme and uke so the attitudes they both have will fluctuate. Also that reminds me… Should I try *gulps* _smut_? I've never written it before, but I'm never afraid to try new things. So… If you want me to… I will write it and send it via fan fiction profiles so this story still appeals to the more innocent readers. So tell me in a review or PM, but you're gonna have to wait a while if you do. Until then- you'll have to put up with my slow writing lol.


	7. Your twisted little pride filled game

A/N: Now I understand where the phrase- "lost the plot" comes from, because as I was reading this story through I realised chapter 6 in no way linked to number 5. In this chapter we have the explanation so enjoy, because my fic is now back on track :P

Blue eyes cracked open and immediately squinted in protest clamping down once more as the sunlight caused an unpleasant throbbing sensation behind the blonds eyelids and his temple. A whine tried to escape his lips, but all that came out was a horrible gurgle from his parched throat, and deciding he wanted to escape the pain- he turned over and sink deeper into his pillows trying to coax sleep to overtake him once more. But his wish was not granted as a cool cloth was laid on his forehead and a soft voice that sounded like a thousand drills burrowing into his brain spoke to him.

"How are you feeling?" somehow Naruto's unresponsive mouth managed to croak out a faint answer

"Wa-ter." There was no answer for a few moments, as the sound of quiet shuffling of objects could be heard, and then Naruto felt a gentle hand tip his chin upwards and shift his body slightly, pressing the cool rim of a glass against his lips. As soon as the sacred liquid hit his lips the blond was gulping it down, but moaned as it was taken away.

"Give it back bastard." Naruto growled, having realised who the smooth tenor voice belonged to.

"I don't want you throwing up on me. Take it slowly." came the curt reply as the raven let Naruto drink once more, a few seconds at a time. It progressed like this for a few minutes, until Sasuke's voice broke the silence.

"How's your head?" Naruto mumbled something incoherent but Sasuke would've bet his life it was some sort of curse word. "Take this." the other boy ordered, parting the blonds lips and slipping a pill into his mouth. In his hung-over state, Naruto didn't care what it was. It could've been crack cocaine for all he knew, but he swallowed it obediently and drank the accompanying liquid that the raven provided.

"Paracetamol?"

"Hn." the raven confirmed and then after a pregnant pause continued more hesitantly "Naruto… do you… Remember anything about last night?" his words were rewarded by a blue eye opening curiously.

"…No…" he replied slowly "I remember us going to the Hokage monument and doing some serious drinking… But after that, nothing… Why? Did something important happen?" Naruto asked, shifting himself up into a sitting position. Sasuke immediately drew back at his words and turned away from the other boy, grinding his teeth in frustration.

"_Why me? Why is it that every time something good happens to me somehow, someway it gets taken from me?" _As soon as these words crossed his mind, a sudden realisation struck the raven. _"So then… Technically… I have nothing left to loose right?"_ And without another thought he pushed the blond back down onto the mattress so his head hit the pillow with a soft thump, and his mouth opened in an "o" of surprise. Sasuke loomed over him, his face dangerously close to Naruto's.

"Whaa- Sasuke?! What are you-?!" The blonds startled outcry was cut off when Sasuke pressed his lips down onto the smaller boys, rendering Naruto immobile from shock as his mind was assaulted with flashbacks of the night before.

The same hands roaming beneath his nightshirt.

The same tongue exploring his cavern.

The same foreign sensation in the pit of his stomach that made him want to fly.

But this time there was no excuse to hide behind.

There was no alcohol to pin the blame on, no beautiful romantic setting to set the mood, nothing to prompt such a display of desperate passion. Naruto gasped, shoving Sasuke off him and hastily stumbling away.

"Do you remember now?" Sasuke asked, smirking slightly as the blond open and closed his mouth in shock.

"Y-you kissed me!" he exclaimed in disbelief. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"And?"

"W-why would you do that?"

"last night or just now?"

"Both!" Sasuke tried stepping forward but the blond was taking no chances, and stepped back, ignoring the pounding in his head that forbade movement.

"Are you really so blind?" the raven asked incredulously. "I thought after last night you may have finally woken up." the blond clenched his fists, tempted to pound the other boys face in.

"Don't flatter yourself! We were drunk. You took advantage of me!"

"Oh shut up and don't be so melodramatic Ursuratonkachi. I didn't see you complaining." Sasuke spat back. Naruto resisted the killing intent that was coursing through his body and settled with a frustrated half-yell.

"It's all because of that stupid dream!"

"huh?" Sasuke asked, blinking slightly at the abrupt change in conversation. Naruto sank to the floor and sat with his head in his hands, talking in a gravely voice.

"I had a nightmare a couple of nights ago that told me to stop caring about you, and I went to Sakura for advice." A flash of displeasure crossed Sasuke's face as if he'd tasted something bad. "She told me it was a gengutsu and it meant something so I should find you and sort it out. I figured since the dream was telling me I didn't understand you properly, I should make the effort to spend some time with you… But look where it got me!" he yelled suddenly angry, looking at the raven accusingly. "Because of you I could've ruined my entire reputation, and my chances with Sakura!" Sasuke flinched and thought fast for a way to diffuse the situation. In fact, so intent he was on calming the other boy down, he couldn't control the words that slipped out of his mouth, but regretted them almost instantly.

"But no one saw us." the blond blinked.

"We… Were alone?"

"Yes." Sasuke replied grudgingly "It was late and we were in a secluded area."

"So… there was no one else there to see us?" Naruto repeated questioningly, with a hint of joy and relief behind his words. At once a stone seemed to hit Sasuke's stomach and send a cold chill of dread spreading through him.

"Don't you dare Naruto." he hissed but the boy in question didn't seem to hear him and was instead busy pacing back and forth talking to himself.

"So no one can prove anything. Sakura doesn't know, no one does, we can pretend it never happened… "

"Let me guess- and go back to how it was before?" Sasuke asked bitterly. At the change in tone, Naruto paused and turned to face the older boy. "How can you ask that of me?" he whispered in disgust. Naruto tried to keep the tone easy but in reality he was half pleading with the Uchiha.

"but don't you see? It's better like this! We can carry on as normal this way-"

"so let me get this straight- you'd have me live a lie for _the rest of my life, _because of you and your stupid pride_? _" Sasuke hissed, as the blond looked down guiltily

"Yes." he stated, his voice only sounding slightly abashed. The raven swallowed and clenched his fists in suppressed rage and indignation.

"Then for all your empathy and false compassion, you are nothing but a _coward_ Uzumaki Naruto." the blond stifled a shocked gasp. "And I refuse to play your game." the raven stated.

"B-but-"

"No buts." cut in Sasuke, his voice cold and curt, averting his eyes from Naruto's desperate gaze and grabbing the door handle. "I'm leaving now and don't expect me back anytime soon."

"B-but Sasuke-" the raven interrupted the blonds stutters, his voice soft and cold like the purest snow, and yet as cutting and destructive as falling hailstones.

"If you see peoples feelings as a mere playthings that you can pick up and throw away at will, then you don't _deserve_ love Uzumaki Naruto, and you don't deserve _me _either." Naruto flinched and shakily rose from the floor, but before he had even taken one step the raven was gone and just beyond the doorway was a telltale pile of ash leftover from Sasuke's teleportation jutsu. The calm after the storm was deafening and the silence seemed to ring, with Naruto left standing in an empty room. As the shock began to sank in, so did the ravens last words.

"_What did he mean- "don't expect me back anytime soon?" _It was only when the fragile chakra link in Naruto's mind was forcibly severed from the wrong end that the blond realised he'd made a terrible and costly mistake.

"He- he's leaving the village!"

A/N: Now we're getting somewhere! And I know, you all hate me now right? Yes of course you do, now tell me your angsts through a lovely review.


	8. Picture perfect, in your dreams!

A/n: Lalala, you're gonna hate me so much after this chapter, lalalalala

Oh and I refuse to proofread anymore! My eyes are burning!

------------------------

The raven stood atop a mountain, far, far outside the boundaries of Konoha village, having given the anbu black ops the slip long before.

"How did I guess?" he stated dryly, combing his hair back into place as the violent winds stirred his black spikes, like grasses on the plains of Africa.

"I guess we must've sensed _each other _this time, _Sasuke kun._" Came the velvety, flirtatious reply, her glowing ruby's gazing deeply into polished onyx. Sasuke smirked, coolly holding out his hand for her to shake, whilst she leapt forward in her eagerness. The raven was almost tempted to chuckle at her beautiful naivety. Just like so many others before her… She was putty in his hands, just waiting to be tarnished by his destructive nature. Perfection to devastation.

"Karin… I have a favour to ask of you."

------------------------

"How did you know I was here?" The 2 were sitting deep inside a cave they had discovered in the mountainside, concealing their chakra and anything to indicate they were alive. Even in the freezing cold, Sasuke dare not risk a fire. The anbu were still out there after all.

"It was pretty obvious." Sasuke replied, drawing his shirt closer to his body in the damp air. "My friend starts complaining about a gengutsu-nightmare that's telling him to get me out of Konoha, and seeing as you clearly have strong ties to me, I figured it was most likely you pining." Karin blushed and tossed her red hair over her shoulder.

"Can you blame me? You've been gone for so long, I figured the only way to get you back was to persuade those closest to you to expel you from Konoha again"

Sasuke studied her in the darkness

"How did you find Naruto anyway? I never mentioned him to you." A slightly embarrassed and guilty look, reminiscent of a child with their hands caught in the cookie jar crossed Karin's face.

"Well, remember when we were facing the eight tails? You know when you had to feed on my chakra, by biting me?" There was no physical response, but underneath the surface the raven had blanched at the uncomfortable memory. Karin fiddled with the zip on her jacket as her voice softened, trying to gage the other teens reaction. "I was able to connect with you for a moment, just a split second and… He was there, that boy you call Naruto." Sasuke looked up sharply, and Karin at least had the decency to look apologetic. She _had_ invaded his privacy after all. "I sensed him in your memories, in your head… Maybe in your soul even." A haunted look crossed the boys features, and for a moment Karin lost her train of thought at the amazing sight of the raw emotions splashed across that picture perfect canvas of a face. The image of pain. She longed to reach out, to touch, and cradle him in her arms, to tell him it would all be all right, but she couldn't. Guilt clutched her heart. It was _her _fault. It was _her_ fault the brunette was with her now… _She_ had sent the nightmares, _she_ was the one who had held him so possessively in her heart and pulled him back to her side. But the worst thing of all, was the fact she had taken him away from the one thing that seemed to make him happy. Suddenly Karin felt a knife of anger and guilt twist in her stomach and cause a surge of emotion to flow through her. Anger at him, and guilt for her actions. She believed, no, she _knew_ she was the only one who loved the Uchiha with such desperation and longing, yet he was so blind to her advances because he was so preoccupied all the time. As she now knew, preoccupied with _Naruto_. That's why Karin felt she was right to do what she did. The blond kid was dangerous. He was too close to Sasuke's heart, _far_ too close, and he needed to be removed from the picture for all their sakes, before Sasuke went insane with his loyalties so badly torn. And yet by separating them, suddenly she felt she had committed a terrible sin. Like separating the sun and moon. Defying the laws of nature. Destroying 2 things which are always meant to exist together. Had she done that? Had she put that awful deadened look into those dark mysterious jewels she longed to one day gaze into freely? Shaking her mind free of her grim thoughts, she continued speaking, trying to deter Sasuke's mind away from that beautiful, terrible force that had a hold on him.

"I knew that if you ever returned to that place, it would be for him, and him alone. So I figured, I had to take him out somehow… Or else someday you'd leave and never come back. And I'd be on my own…" her voice shrank to a whisper "Without a purpose." Sasuke's eyes widened at her words, as nostalgia hit and his memories reshuffled, bringing a familiar scene from a lifetime ago before his eyes.

"_There is only one person who matters to me, and I live to protect and serve him. That is my purpose."_

The raven looked up, squinting at her as if seeing her properly for the first time.

"You… You'd do anything for me." it wasn't a question but Karin answered anyway, bowing her head.

"Yes."

"Then tell me." he began, his voice no longer soft and transparent but emotionless and unreadable "When we were with Orochimaru, did you… Learn anything to do with medical ninjutsu? Antidotes? Sedatives?… _Poisons_?"

"A..A little." she replied, lightly taken aback at his strange question.

"Could you make a particular substance if I asked for it?" Karin chewed her bottom lip, her ruby eyes darkening to crimson resembling the sharingan as her thoughts became more and more analytical.

"Maybe… I learned the principles from books and I saw Orochimaru sama do certain medical experiments before. I think I could… Yes, I'm sure I could." she pushed her thick framed glasses further back onto her nose as her tone turned businesslike, trying to forget her strange show of emotion earlier.

"Provided I had the right materials of course."

"And if you had access to them…" Sasuke began carefully "You'd do me a favour?" The girl blinked

"Of course Sasuke kun, anything."

"Then make me a poison." the raven stated bluntly. Karin narrowed her eyes, at his words. Sasuke wanted somebody dead? Why? He'd been keeping such a low profile, what could have possibly affected him so badly in Konoha? And why? Oblivious to her musings the ravens speech continued "And a sedative."

"What are you going to do?" Karin asked quietly.

"_I'm_ not going to do anything." he shot back "_You_ are going to infiltrate Konoha and find 2 people in my acquaintance. Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"F-for what reason?" Sasuke's eyes were clouded as he spoke some words, Karin was sure were not meant for her ears.

"I need to be rid of my demons once and for all."

"Sasuke- _What are you saying_?" She reiterated, staring warily at the raven who was suddenly eyeing her with a chilling determination.

"First; find and anesthetise Haruno Sakura, and then…"

----------

"Kill Uzumaki Naruto."

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A/N:

:gets shot:

Review?

:shot again:


	9. Because I love you

A/n: Chaos is sick. Chaos doesn't want to update this story because she'd rather go to sleep or watch TV. But Chaos knows if she doesn't update, angry reviewers will attack her with bricks, so she's updating regardless and apologises for the crappy quality of this chapter.

Karin's heart was engaged in an emotional struggle. As a shinobi she knew it was wrong to fight a battle with the heart, but just this once she felt it was acceptable to make an exception. As her potion stewed and she crushed the toxic plants with the flat side of her kunai, the foul, tainted odour invaded her nostrils reminding Karin of the terrible mess her own emotions were in. Like being crushed from 2 directions at once. On the one hand, she wanted to fulfil Sasuke kuns wishes to the best of her abilities, but on the other hand, she believed that the task she had been assigned was not in her best interests. And Karin was essentially, a very selfish human being. Especially where the Uchiha was concerned. Her red eyes were clouded and her hand moved in a mechanical rhythm, slicing, chopping crushing, kneading, sprinkling as her previous conversation with Sasuke replayed in her mind.

**Flashback**

_Karin was in shock from the ravens words and was peering owlishly at the Uchiha._

"_But Sasuke kun- that boy… I thought he meant something to you! Why would __killing Naruto make you happy? __**I **__was the reason you two got separated in the first place thanks to my jutsu, so why the sudden attitude change towards him? And who the hell is this Sakura?__" The other teen blinked and sneered at her._

"_Your weak little dream manipulation jutsu has nothing to do with this Karin."_

"_B-but that's what lured you here right? I thought that Naruto must've taken heed of my warnings and thrown you out-"_

"_Actually he did the opposite." Sasuke replied, cutting in "He's a stubborn dobe like that." Karin felt a heated blush spread across her cheeks and feeling slightly embarrassed decided to shut her mouth. "so stop blaming yourself for whatever you're thinking is your fault and keep your nose out of my business. My past ties are none of your concern." the redhead looked visibly affronted, and objected violently to his words._

"_It __**is**__ my concern Sasuke! Don't you see? I can't just accept it and follow orders like that when you're asking me to murder a person you were __**obviously **__in love with! And don't you even try to deny it!" Silence followed her outburst and the raven avoided her eyes._

"_No.__" _

"_Sasuke!__" Karin stated warningly, but was not prepared for the passion the next words that came from the Uchiha's mouth held._

"_I __**love **__him. Present tense.__" The sharingan burned into her own red eyes which softened under his hard glare._

"_Then… Why?__"_

"_He has… Someone else.__" he replied darkly, his fists clenched at his side._

"_The __Haruno girl?__" Karin stated shrewdly, raising one eyebrow._

"_Hai.__"_

"_Then sorry for being blunt, but wouldn__'__t it make more sense to kill her?!__" she exclaimed._

"_Karin, open your eyes." Sasuke spat back incredulously "Do you not think I've gone through this a thousand times in my head? He__'__d know. He__'__s an ursuratonkachi in everything but the matters of his own heart. He__'__d know I was responsible and he__'__d hate me forever. Never able to meet my eyes again. Never forgive me." The ravens look was solemn and his eyes seemed to smoulder in self pity and hidden frustration. "I would be without a purpose.__"_

"_But why__…__ Why is killing him a better option?__" she asked exasperatedly, failing to accept the ravens warped logic._

"_Because this way… Even if I'll never be able to be with him properly… Right at the last, I'll be the one with him. I'll be holding him as he breathes his last, whilst his supposed "true love" sleeps on like a baby without a care in the world." A deadly smirk adorned his face as Sasuke's sadistic streak came to light. "Then we'll see who's most loyal__.__"_

"_But you__'__ll loose him.__" Karin replied quietly to which Sasuke nodded, determined. _

"_But more importantly __so will she.__"_

_-------------------------------_

Karin may have now understood the reasoning behind Sasuke's request, but she still wasn't sure that it was the right thing to do. Not on a moral level, but in regards of her own intents and purposes. A smooth tenor voice cut into her thoughts.

"Karin- is it ready?" the redhead, recovering from the slight shock composed herself and looked up from her work

"a few more hours."

"and then you can set off?"

"…Hai." Karin confirmed after a pregnant pause.

"Good." the Uchiha replied briskly "When you're ready you will head for Konoha, and I will follow a little while later. Remember; sedate Sakura first, then kill Naruto. That way there's less chance of you being discovered and I will have my time with him in peace. Once you're done, leave the area immediately before Konoha send in the anbu."

"I understand" she replied quietly "Now can I do my work in peace please Sasuke kun?" the raven looked slightly taken aback by her rudeness but shrugged his shoulders and complied, stalking back into the darkness of the cave. The redhead watched him go with a feral look in her normally focussed eyes, her jumbled thoughts arranging themselves in the calmness of her solitude. She had made up her mind. Grabbing the kunai once more her strokes became purposeful and consistent, no longer robot like, as plant after plant was mercilessly shredded and strained of its malicious juice. She couldn't do this task, not in the way Sasuke required her to. She was a shinobi and she had a duty to her own heart, not just him, an inner duty she had to stick by no matter what in order to remain true to herself. In the life of a shinobi you had to make many sacrifices. Morality, conscience, every sense of right and wrong you were ever taught goes out the window on the battlefield. But the worst thing you could do, as a ninja was loose yourself. If you forgot your own feelings, and erased your own personality what were you then? A killing machine. For Karin, obeying Sasuke's orders would be like committing suicide. To her, it was as good as going mad.

"_I__'__m sorry Sasuke kun, but I cannot, __**will not, **__fulfil the task you have given me. I cannot permit that Sakura girl to lean on you in the aftermath of Naruto- sans death. It would be a betrayal of my purpose and loyalty to you Sasuke kun, and I __**must **__eliminate her. Even if you hate me afterwards __…_

_I will betray you, because I love you." _


	10. Jumping to conclusions

A/N: I GIVE UP! //throws down tablet pen// Take it, just take it already! I've had it up to here with this stupid picture!

.com/art/NaruSasu-Suffocation-113258420

I got a bit frustrated with photoshop. Anyway… This chapter gets a bit gruesome just to warn you and there's a lot of scene changes in this one because lots of scenes occur simultaneously. Oh and randomly- listen to Leann Rimes "And it feels like" for no other reason than the fact it's a great song that really applies to Sasu and Naru.

-----------------------------

"Any news?"

Sakura was standing in the Hokage's office, coming to give in a mission report for Kakashi sensei. Tsunade sama simply shook her head at the question and Sakura sighed in defeat. Naruto had not spoken a word to her about what had transgressed between him and the raven, except telling her he had defected yet again, and after alerting Tsunade he seemed to have simply disappeared. He did not assault Tsunade's eardrums regularly with demands to know how the anbu were getting on, nor did he insist upon a search party of his own. Instead he mostly stayed locked in his apartment and had a quiet word to Sakura every now and again to inquire after the investigation, to which the pinkette always replied in the negative. Sasuke had fallen off the map. It was like trying to get blood out of a stone.

"_But __**why**__? Why would he run away? Why now? And why hasn't he returned? Whatever happened between those 2, Naruto__'__s got the message by now, he__'__s in pieces for crying out loud! If this was just to prove a point, why is Sasuke dragging it out?__" _Her conscience answered immediately.

"_Because he__'__s not out there to prove a point.__"_Sakura shivered despite the warmth of the afternoon sun. This is what herself and the Hokage had feared since day 1, that Sasuke would betray them all over again and try and destroy the village. She hated that feeling. The feeling of being excluded, of not knowing. The feeling of being a third wheel. She had been stuck in that position since the day they had become team 7. Sasuke and Naruto always bickering and doing the serious fighting, always engaged in some form of communication with each other, whilst she was left on the outside watching their backs behind a wall of silence. She was clever, and she was strong, but she was always in the shadows in comparison to them. And she hated it. She absolutely loathed being left in the dark by her team mates. And now it was happening all over again, Sasuke and Naruto, locked in their seemingly everlasting battle with each other, without a need for her.

"_It was bad enough when Sasuke wouldn't talk to me… But now Naruto's ignoring me too… Why wont they trust me? I have a really bad feeling about this and I need him to work with me…"_

_------------------------_

_Some hours later_

Wind whipped the shinobi's red strands round her face, as the moonlight cast threatening shadows on the ground, the treetops groaning eerily in the darkness. In one hand she held the sedative, in the other the deadly poison, and in her pocket was a picture Sasuke had given her of his 2 team mates, their addresses scribbled on the back. There was no need for questions anymore. Now was the time for action and Karin's mind was made up. A fair few miles behind she could sense Sasuke's weak chakra signature, and sped up, trying to loose him. She needed as much time as possible to execute her plans before he caught up.

------------

Suppressing her own signature, she crossed the boundary around Konoha…

-----------

Tears glistened on Naruto's podgy cheeks, but he was in no hurry to wipe them away, totally oblivious to everything except his dreams. His chest steadily rose and fell, and small whimpers escaped his mouth.

"Sas-u-ke. Don't… Please… Come back…" Unbeknownst to him a silent figure was perched outside his open window, a feminine silhouette outlined by the weak rays of moonlight. The glowing embers of her eyes surveyed the scene with her lip curled. Soon enough those strange feelings that boy held for her Sasuke kun would be nothing more than a distant memory. Stealthily landing on Naruto's bedroom floor, she made her way over to where the blond was sleeping, and taking advantage of his open mouth, administered a few drops of sedative, just enough to keep him out of the way, but short enough to ensure her plan worked to its full potential. She watched, fascinated, as the boys words turned into incoherent mumbles and then stopped all together as the potion worked its magic, and his head flopped lifelessly to one side.

"Dream on sleeping beauty."

--------------------

Steam fogged up the glass mirrors in the bathroom, and Sakura giggled using one finger to draw a smiley face as water dripped down onto her soft skin. She shook her dripping pink hair free of the annoying droplets that fell down onto her back giving her tingles and wrapped a towel gown round herself, wiping her feet on the bathroom mat and stretching leisurely. She loved having a warm shower late of a night to relax her after a hard day training. Depositing her dirty clothes into the hamper in the corner she strode out of the room, realising too late there was a second, unknown chakra present with her. _In her apartment. _Before she could do anything there was a kunai pressed against her throat, and two strong arms holding her down. _If only she had fought the instinct to scream…She might have saved herself._ As soon as she opened her mouth, the attacker smashed a vial of liquid against her teeth, the voice chuckling in her ear as the pinkette gagged and spat shards of blood from her lacerated mouth. A chuckle which only increased in volume as the girl began to wretch instead, blood from her lips mixing with the bile from her stomach, her trapped arms struggling to clutch her sides in pain. The other complied and released her, to let the girl fall limply onto the floor and moan in agonised screams of pain, curled in the foetal position.

"There's no point in screaming. There's a gengutsu around your apartment, so no one can hear you." Tear filled jade eyes turned to gaze at her assassin for the first time, and she let out a gasp of surprise. A girl of her own age stood before her, flame coloured hair and eyes to match, gazing at her cruelly with a smirk of victory plastered across her face and even as Sakura's vision began to die and her breathing became more laboured she could still see those terrible fiery eyes burning into her soul, with a coldness that rivalled ice. In her last moments as the terrible poison took its effect, Sakura could muster only one, tiny word.

"_Why?" _Karin's eyes seemed to soften for a moment as a flicker of warmth stirred within the flames. Perhaps it was compassion for poor girl whose life was in jeopardy beneath her, or perhaps it was simply the reminder of her life's purpose. The redhead bent down over her preys face and gently caressed the sweaty, feverish skin, jade eyes powerless to do anything other than glare.

"Because of him." she replied softly, kissing her fingers and touching Sakura's forehead, her last words to her victim short and detached, yet perhaps the most significant she had ever spoken in her life.

"Go swiftly child."

_Because it proved she cared._

Sighing slightly Karin stood once more, standing over the corpse with a heavy heart, as glassy green eyes gazed at her accusingly.

"_The things we do for love." _she thought wearily turning to walk away when out of nowhere a hand grabbed her. Karin didn't even try to resist as she was shoved against the wall, her arm painfully twisted in an unnatural way, with the tip of a kunai pressed into the base of her spine, just breaking the skin.

"I'm gonna kill you." came the gruff threat, the normally silky, tenor voice now covered with a sheen of malice.

"Hello Sasuke kun." Karin whispered happily.

-------------------------

Naruto was paralysed- in his own bed. Blue eyes were fully alert, as his mind struggled to command his limbs to work, succeeding in nothing but a shake of his leg. He longed to be able to turn over and roll out of the bed but even the most basic movement was beyond his reach and the only thing he could discern was the weak presence of a foreign chakra that had been in his room and around his sleeping area, strongly disguised. At least he had his senses, Naruto thought grimly. Deep within the recesses of his mind he could feel the Kyuubi at work, trying to discharge this strange "something" from his body. He could feel the fox's healing chakra flood his system, slowly enabling movement bit by bit. A finger, two fingers, a whole hand, then a wrist. As the demon got to work, Naruto could only ponder. It must've been a drug of some sort to incur such a rapid and lengthy change in his body chemistry, there was no other explanation, and he couldn't risk waiting for Kyuubi's chakra to fully heal him. "The only reason you sedate someone is to get them out the way." Naruto thought desperately, experimentally rocking his body back and forth to see if he could move himself. "I need a quicker remedy than this, if something's going on. I need to find Sakura and get her to use her medical ninjutsu to heal me." Finally after much straining Naruto inched himself out the bed, his arms and legs now (although stiff) were working. Staggering awkwardly out of his apartment, hitting the doorframes on his way he managed to haul himself into the streets and down to Sakura's place of residence. He was concentrating so hard on moving without falling over he didn't even feel the gengutsu seeping through the concrete walls as he opened the apartment door…

MEANWHILE

----------------------------

"Go back to the base, I'll get my answers later. If you run I will track you down and I swear to god I **will** kill you." Karin smirked, closing her ruby eyes.

"Why not get your answers now?"

"because I don't feel like arguing with you in front of my best friends corpse." Sasuke hissed, releasing the teen suddenly as if his hands had been dirtied from the touch. The girl wordlessly turned away and complied, teleporting away from the terrible scene, leaving Sasuke alone with his longstanding fangirl, his team mate. His love rival.

"No that's not right." Sasuke thought, stepping precariously into the space by her side. _"Ex." _the raven felt a familiar pain spasm through his chest at the horrific implications the word contained. A feeling he had felt too many times before. Loss. Death. A precious thing that could never be replaced. Haruno Sakura. The most annoying kunoichi in Konoha, the most academically brilliant student in their Genin days, gone forever. Her spirit extinguished. Sasuke knelt close to her, marvelling at this new side of her that he had never seen. She laid in the moonlight, her hair falling around her head, her green eyes empty and calm. Sasuke envied her. In death her beauty surpassed even his own. Sakura's once flushed excited face that was full of life was pale and frozen, her lips in a neutral position betraying no fear or sadness and her body was rigid and heavy, nothing like the dainty flower she used to be in life. And above all… She looked so small and helpless. But he envied her. He envied that state so much, because Sasuke knew she had achieved something he doubted he ever could. She had found inner peace. She had died accepting her fate, realising there was no way out and just let go. She was able to let go of the regrets and hateful feelings inside her that might have held her back in this life. With two fingers he peeled her eyelids shut. Yes. She was beautiful. Sasuke acknowledged that. But she was not strong. A strong person would've kept fighting. A strong person would not have accepted death so easily. A strong person would've died trying, even if it meant dying in emotional turmoil. Sasuke closed his eyes in anger. She was not _Naruto. _This was never meant to happen. He should be the one in her place. He should be the one sprawled on the floor, beautiful and serene. _This was all wrong._

"I have to go and find Karin." Sasuke thought, quickly forming the hand seals to leave.

"_**Don't you fucking dare." **_The ravens movements froze at the sinister growl. Robotically his head turned allowing an onyx eye to gaze at the doorway. In the shadows was the figure of a young man, illuminated by a red hue of light, his blond hair wild and untamed, claws sprouting from his fingertips.

"Na-ru-to" Sasuke ground out, all too aware of the compromising situation he was in. He watched the blue eyes bleed into crimson as the blond began to join all the wrong dots together, gazing at Sakura's lifeless body.

"_And __go back to how it was before? How can you ask that of me?"_

"_you'd have me __**live a lie**__ for the __**rest of my life, **__because of you and your stupid pride?"_

"_Well. I refuse to play your game."_

Naruto blamed him. He could see it in the eyes, the cold accusation boring into his onyx orbs. He knew that there was no way out, the evidence was too concrete for Sasuke to explain the complicated truth. Hell, he didn't even know what the truth was himself yet! But nevertheless the blonds words still put the nail in the coffin and made his world crash down.

"I'll fucking kill you."

A/N: So. It's incredibly long. How weird. Review? ;P

Oh and the good news (or bad news depending on your point of view) is- we're nearing the end! (cheers) And the bad news is this is your last update for this week. As of now- its homework and revision all the way! I'm sorry, I have important exams and mini tests I missed.

Until next time :D

Chaos signing off…


	11. Parting

A/N: Wow guys, consdier yourselves lucky I enjoy procrastinating but this really IS the last update for the week or else I'm gonna kill myself through a work overload. Yes the link in the last chapter was a dud. It's now on my profile page.

Thankfully we're getting somewhere with this fan fiction now, the final leg of the journey people, about 4 chapters left if I've calculated it right. Enjoy.

Rage made Naruto reckless. His hits were uncoordinated (the sedative was still in his system) and the effort that he put into his hits made his reactions slower, so Sasuke had no problems dodging them. Quickly jumping out of reach and making a shadow clone to keep Naruto busy, Sasuke began making the hand seals to teleport out. He felt terrible walking out now, knowing that running away in the face of adversity would just make his would-be-crime look worse, but felt he had no other choice. Until he could explain this mess to Naruto he was a marked man, and to get his own answers he needed to locate Karin. Naruto's red eyes constricted, seeing the final hand seal be completed whilst Sasuke's shadow clone stood protectively in front of the original. Sasuke's midnight eyes met Naruto's, pain flickering deep within the bottomless pits as the blond watched on, totally helpless. The raven haired teen shook his head very slightly, keeping their gazes locked whilst his shadow clone whispered 9 words into the blonds ear that would haunt him for many sleepless nights to come.

"Whatever you see here- It's _not_ what you think." In the split second it took for Naruto's crimson eyes to blink, in a silent answer to the statement, Sasuke was no where to be seen. In that split second of unawareness the raven had erased himself from Naruto's life all over again for the third time.

--------------------

"Why did you disobey me?"

"I had to."

Karin's screams echoed in the depths of the cave as Sasuke's chidori ripped through her body.

"And I'll say it again. _Why did you disobey me_?" Karin turned her head away from the raven, and spat blood onto the stone floor, hanging limply from the cave walls by chains Sasuke had conjured in the shape of snakes.

"I couldn't allow you to be with her." she whispered hoarsely, referring to the now dead Sakura. Sasuke sneered in contempt.

"I never _loved_ her Karin. What were you so scared of?"

"You can't know how your feelings are going to change." The girl replied stubbornly making Sasuke narrow his eyes and angry chakra flood his system. "You would have been untied in the pain after your… friends… Death. She would've leaned on you for support and your emotions would've been a wreck. Who knows what you would've done."

"That's not your decision to make." Sasuke told her fiercely, a chidori crackling in the centre of his clenched fist.

"So it wasn't yours either." Karin replied calmly, dull tired red eyes gazing at a blank spot somewhere on the opposite cave wall, but unable to prevent a second scream escape her mouth as Sasuke once again plunged the lightening bolt through her shoulder.

"They are my comrades. It is my choice as to how I shape my future with them."

"So you have a higher status than me that allows you to take their lives on a whim?" she snapped, anger giving her a little strength. "A murderer who kills once person has the same mindset of a murderer who kills a hundred. There are no differences between evil people. Me and you Sasuke, we've both done terrible things that have destroyed peoples lives, perhaps in different ways but we've still caused untold pain to God knows how many. You are no better than I am and you have no divine power over me that enables you to dictate what is the "right" or "wrong" course action for me to take."

"And yet by disobeying my orders you've left alive the one person who was your greatest threat in your quest for my love in the first place." Sasuke stated amusedly but the girl smirked, and Sasuke's twisted grin faltered.

"Do you _honestly_ think he'll choose you now? In his eyes you've just killed the girl who he loved the most. _Who he loved more than you_." Sasuke flinched. "He'll hate you for the rest of your existence and the only once left for you to turn to is me." Sasuke's eyes became cold and he leaned in, titling her head to make Karin look him in the eyes, his hand gripping her chin painfully.

"O.K Karin. So let me ask you a question" he hissed, ignoring her whine of pain "after you disobeyed my orders, killed my best friend and made the person I cared about most hate me- why would I fall in love with _you_?!"

"You wont." she replied matter- of- factly.

"Then what in Gods name, has this actually _achieved_?!" Sasuke yelled desperately, flecks of spit flying into the girls face making her scrunch up her nose. Silence rang, as Sasuke's chest heaved in exertion, hatred clenching his heart, whilst ruby eyes gazed at him impassively. Karin inclined with her head for him to come closer but Sasuke raised an eyebrow, refusing point blank.

"I want to tell you something important." she whispered. "It's a secret, just between me and you." (1) Sasuke growled under his breath before leaning in close, the position reminding him of the time him and Naruto were…

"_Oh yeah, I was about to kill him that time too." _Sasuke realised vaguely, remembering the flash of his katana blade and Naruto's expression of determination. He almost forgot Karin was about to tell him something important.

"I seem to remember you once telling me why you wanted to destroy the thing you cared about most." she whispered, a cold feeling sinking into Sasuke's stomach. "I believe it went something like- Even if I can't have you, at least no one else will." His hand was on her throat in a flash but she did nothing except smile. "Kill me if you want Sasuke kun, just know you destroyed the only chance of love you had left." His grip tightened and she let out a faint gurgle.

"I will not end your life. That would be too _kind_ Karin." he spat. She looked at him in confusion. "You're right, if I kill you I _will_ destroy the only chance of love I have left." She blinked as he drew in close, a malicious glint in his cold, dark iron pits "Do you wanna know a secret too Karin? Just between me and you?" Karin tensed as he whispered into her ear. "I can see the future." her eyes widened.

"Sasuke kun?" she asked uncertainly.

"And do you know what I see Karin?" Sasuke growled, his voice laced with venom. "I can see you in a few years time, rotting away in a jail cell in Konoha prison, my name cleared of all charges, and you screaming at the silence, whist I am free to walk the streets, safe in the knowledge you _and_ your insanity are locked up in the dark where I will never have to see your face again." the girl let out a strangled sound, that sounded like a cross between a sob and a gasp as he drew back. "And you know the scariest thing about my prediction Karin?" he asked, grinning like a madman (2) She glared at him wordlessly. "In a few days time, it's going to come true. And there's _nothing_ you can do about it."

------------------------------------------

A solitary Sakura flower was placed reverently on a wooden coffin, a lonely tear sliding down the petals as another shard of Naruto Uzumaki's heart shattered into a million pieces. By the side of the freshly dug grave, Lady Tsunade looked at the scene with a weary gaze, the pain of life's experience evident in her normally warm caramel eyes.

"She was 15 years old." she whispered in disbelief, choking on her words. Kakashi who was standing beside her gripped her hand reassuringly, his Icha Icha paradise forgotten, as he mourned the loss of his brilliant student. Another name to add to the list of those who died before their time. His dark eyes rested on Naruto's distant back, knowing that the hollow feeling in his own chest must feel like a mere pothole in comparison to the black hole that was consuming Naruto. Everyone who had witnessed the blonds face when he had brought Sakura's limp body to the Hokage's office would be haunted by that terrible look of grief in those empty blue eyes until the day they died. That's how they looked now. Empty. Tears spilled from ocean pools freely, but there was no emotion contained in their depths. No pain, no grief, it was all shut away behind closed doors, no doubt to be released later in the solitude of the night. Beside him stood his ever faithful subordinate Konohomaru, trying to be strong for his "nii- chan", offering the simple comfort of his company as support. But right now there was only one, only _one_ who could make any impression on what Naruto was feeling. The one that made Naruto feel more complete than anyone else had ever done, and the same person who had had destroyed his life countless times over. He wanted to be held by those skinny yet powerful arms that gave him a promise of protection in their embrace, and he wanted to rip them off at the same time. He wanted to find solace in that murky, endless calm gaze that promised security but equally he wanted to gouge them out. He wanted Sasuke, and he also wanted him dead. He was confused and angry at his conflicting emotions, knowing that the raven should be the last one he waned to run to after what had transpired, but he couldn't kill the feelings in his heart that told him he wanted Sasuke by his side. He wanted to share his pain with the boy he had come to consider as his best friend in the whole wide world, and the one he had dedicated the majority of his life to. Naruto winced as the devious, disloyal thoughts came into his mind as he remembered how many times the ravens presence invaded his dreams and nightmares, often accompanied by the few flashbacks he could remember of that one drunken night. "_But that's wrong, I shouldn't be thinking about him like this! Especially not today at any rate!"_ The only sign of his inner struggle was the clenched fists at his side but the omnipresent gaze of Hinata Hyuuga picked it up. The ever present blush adorned her cheeks and her hands were clasped neatly together, as she observed the inner conflict inside the beautiful blond boy. Hinata knew. She may not have shown it, but she knew what Naruto was going through. She had also been torn by her loyalties before. Wanting Naruto's happiness and knowing that she would never be the one to give it to him had hurt her deeply, making her feel even more insignificant and introverted, and even worse, it had made her unable to grow up. She had been stuck loving him for as long as she could remember (3) but seeing Naruto hurting so badly in front of her made her feel like she was so immature not to have let him go years ago. He was a wild spirit. Something her timid heart could never claim as her own. She would've felt like she was caging in an animal that longed to be free. Free with someone else. Her milky white eyes gazed longingly at his angelic form, with a shrewd feeling she knew what was on the boys mind. Sasuke. She wasn't too deeply involved in Naruto's life, but you'd have to be blind to not see the bond those two boys shared, and she knew Naruto had taken Sasuke's second defection pretty hard. Especially after the avenger had been found (according to rumours she had heard) at the scene of Sakura's death, which only raised more questions, in her mind anyway. She knew it was not her place to interfere or poke about in other peoples private affairs, but she hated to see her loved one suffering.

After the service she found the blond standing on his own by the side of the river on the bridge, and after wrestling with her shyness for a few moments, suppressed her fear and approached him. He threw a glance in her direction and then went back to staring at the river, occasionally dropping a stone into the flow and watching fascinated as it was carried away.

"H-how's the enquiry g-going?" Hinata asked him quietly. Naruto closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, making Hinata squirm inwardly. Sadness did not suit him.

"I testified in front of old grandma Tsunade" he stated heavily. "Against Sasuke." Hinata gasped in disbelief at Naruto's actions.

"b-but you and him-"

"_I know _alright?!" Naruto snapped, glaring at her, making her head fall and her fingers begin twiddling together. He sighed again and put a hand on her shoulder but she flinched away "Hinata chan… Sorry. It's just I'm really uptight at the moment and-"

"No n-need t-to justify yourself." Hinata stammered, blushing. "I was r-rude to you. It's n-not your f-fault Naruto kun, especially with..." there was no need to finish the sentence because both knew who's name came after. Hinata had always been very jealous of the pinkette ever since she had fist been placed on Naruto's team instead of her, but through the years they had reached an unspoken understanding. Now she was gone… and Hinata knew she would miss her presence dearly. Naruto suddenly slumped against the railings, as if the energy had been drained from his body. He looked so tired with life.

"I didn't know what to do." he admitted, catching Hinata's attention. "It's my duty to make sure justice is done, and her killer is caught. _I know that_. And I know I shouldn't feel guilty about giving them information to help with the enquiry… but when I told them about Sasuke… I felt like _I_ was the one committing a crime. Is that wrong?" he asked his voice only just above a whisper.

"Y-you did the right thing by Sakura chan." Hinata replied firmly. "Whatever you feel towards Sasuke, if you love her then-"

"But don't you see Hinata chan- that's the whole point!" Naruto exclaimed making the timid girl jump.

"I-I f-fail to see N-Naruto kun-"

"If I loved her like I've been saying for all these years, I _wouldn't _feel guilty about turning Sasuke in. I'd be going over there and cutting the bastards throat open myself with a kunai! Why… Why can I not stay mad at him?!" he ended the last sentence by pounding the bars of the bridge, creating a satisfying clanging sound, as Hinata looked down, her eyes strangely impassive.

"You know Naruto-kun, it's not impossible to be in love two people at once." she whispered, making Naruto freeze.

"M-me? Love Sasuke? Don't be ridiculous Hinata chan, that's-"

"Stupid? Wrong? Irrational?" she whispered, her pale eyes strangely accusing, almost challenging, and for once in his life, Naruto backed down.

"But what on Earth makes you think that me and him are anything other than-?"

"Because sometimes when you talk about him… It sounds… D-different to how you n-normally address a best friend. Y-you sound possessive s-sometimes Naruto kun. Protective." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Exactly. He's my _best friend_."

"B-but you're still doubting yourself, r-right? " she asked softly. Naruto scoffed quietly and threw another pebble into the stream, relishing the splash as it ripped through the surface of the water.

"I… I don't know Hinata. I… Me and Sasuke… It's complicated. I don't know what I feel. I tried convincing myself so long ago he was a brother to me, but now I think about it, how do I actually _know_ how you're meant to treat a sibling? I've never had a brother… And Sasuke… Sasuke…" Naruto clammed up, his face taking on an expression of excruciating pain, like a wounded animal.

"He told you he loved you?" Hinata suggested quietly, making Naruto turn round in amazement.

"… How did you-"

"Call it women's intuition." she replied smiling wryly, before turning to him seriously. "So what did you do?"

"I… I had Sakura chan to think about. I didn't want her getting hurt and I still had feelings for her-"

"So you rejected him?"

"Yeah… And then… Then he goes and does this!" Naruto half yelled in frustration and grief. Hinata tentatively massaged his shoulder

"It's O.K N-Naruto kun. Y-you c-can tell me." she soothed.

"A-and now, even after all this has happened, I can't stop thinking about him"

"It's understandable. Y-you've been through a s-shock. And after all… H-he _was_ at the scene r-right?" her voice became hushed towards the end of the sentence and Naruto nodded. "S-so it's O.K to be thinking about him."

"Not like this." Naruto muttered darkly, "And now… Now I have these weird thoughts and feelings in me, everyone will call me a freak…" she looked at him sympathetically "Hinata- _I don't want to be hated again_." The girl felt a warm feeling flood her chest at the blonds words, knowing it was the first time he had confided in her about his personal life.

"Naruto kun, even if the rest of the world does, I promise _I _wont hate you." she replied reassuringly , a small smile on her face that Naruto suspected was fake. "Besides I always had my suspicions you and Sasuke were more than you appeared, I always ignored it of course but… I think a fair few people did." the blond paled at her words  
"Others… Know?"

"So you admit it?"

"B-but it's wrong! An insult to Sakura chan's memory!"

"You can't choose who you fall in love with." she replied sadly, silently adding _"I should know."_

"So what should I do?"

"Do what you're best at when it comes to Sasuke kun. Find him. Get the answers you need." she told him, her voice abnormally confident. Naruto smiled at her display of empathy.

"You're a really great friend." Hinata couldn't properly smile back, but felt strangely relieved that she now had the answers she had been searching for.

"But… Don't expect it to be plain sailing…" Naruto warned "Right now I could still rip the bastard to pieces" she giggled lightly at his antics, remembering how fierce the two boys had fought back in their days at the academy.

"It's O.K. You two are forever destined to be rivals, no matter what happens between you. In fact I would think it strange if you bent over backwards in the name of love Naruto-kun. You are not one of Sasuke kun's fangirls after all."

"No. It's a whole lot more complicated than that." Naruto agreed. "And Hinata." he began more tentatively making her look up. " me and Sasuke… We haven't even sorted this out for ourselves yet, and now this whole business with Sakura chan…"

"I understand Naruto-kun, you're secret is safe with me." she reassured solemnly.

For a second both teens stared at each other, as the wind stilled and a strange feeling of finality surrounded them, like 2 lovers who were about to part ways for the final time. It provided a warped sense of unity that made them feel at ease on such a dark day.

"Arigato Hinata."

"No." she replied happily, feeling the heavy burden of 8 years unrequited love fall from her shoulders as she turned her back on him and gazed into the bright sunlight of her new future. "Thank _you, _Naruto kun."

(1) wow… O.O I totally went Hollywood with that line. Oh well.

(2) *shakes head in shame* so so so so OOC. Never mind, Sasuke's insane. There's the excuse.

(3) I had to bring Hina chan in *huggles her* she's too awesome and sensitive to leave out of the funeral scene.

So. Sakura's down, Hinata's out, just Karin to go and then there's no more obstacles in the way except their own stubborn feelings. *hits Sasuke upside the head*

Review please faithful readers ;P


	12. Naruto's curse

A/N: GOMENASAI! *screams and runs from flamethrowers and sharp pointy objects being thrown at her* Exams. Exams. Homework. A new fan fiction idea. A muse who wouldn't leave me alone. GCSE prep. Exams. Art coursework oh and did I mention EXAMS?

But I'm back in business now ;) And also- check out "Obligations of the Afterlife" my newest fanfic, because my fan fiction muse has been attacking me and has been forcing me to write it. Consequently I sorta lost the will to write this one… Anyway, the chapter's here right? Enjoy? *runs away again*

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"_You found me." It was a cold statement. Little emotion behind the words. _

"_I had to." An equally cold reply. "__**You **__have something __**I **__want."_

"_And what would that be dobe?"_

"_Answers."_

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"You said it wasn't what it looked like. What did that mean?" Naruto and Sasuke were staring each other down. The blond had tracked the others chakra signature to the hideout-cave, and he'd found it surprisingly easy considering Sasuke was meant to be a top S-rank ninja.

"It means what it implies. I _didn't_ kill her."

"You were there!" Naruto shouted accusingly "Her corpse was still _warm_ Sasuke, and you were standing over her like-"

"You're making assumptions again Naruto." the other boys stated calmly, glaring at Naruto to silence his babbling. "You saw the murder _scene_, nothing more nothing less."

"But you know who did it." the blond challenged matter of factly and Sasuke nodded inclining his head into the mouth of the cave.

"So come and meet the murderer."

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"Take her." Sasuke told him, nudging the lifeless Karin with his foot. She was sprawled on the ground, long since unconscious from the pain that had been inflicted upon her. "She will give you the information you require." Naruto stared at him, blue eyes abnormally emotionless.

"I need to hear it from you."

"I don't like to waste words." the raven dismissed. "Leave with her and give her to the Konoha authorities, get the answers you need and then come and find me again."

"And why would I do that?" Naruto asked, turning away from the other boy, his voice rather strained. "Sasuke, I can barely _look_ at you right now." In reply a lightweight body was pressed into his arms, and the blond quickly supported the unconscious girls neck, trying desperately to ignore the masculine hands that lingered a little too long around his arms.

"Take her. Your opinion may change." Sasuke told him quietly but Naruto merely snorted.

"Right now, I doubt it."

-------

The questioning had taken a very short time. Karin had immediately requested for Naruto to be the one interrogate her, and Lady Tsunade, after much deliberation, had agreed. So here they were; Karin in a bleak, grey walled cell, tied and bound to a chair by chakra restraints and Naruto sitting across from her on the other side of a small table refusing to look into her eyes.

"You killed her."

"Yes." she confirmed in a small voice.

"Why?"

"It was my duty to Sasuke kun." Naruto growled in his throat and leaned forward threateningly.

"Don't joke with me. What does that _mean_ Karin?"  
"It means you are cursed Naruto _kun_." she replied softly, and Naruto's eyes widened in confusion, caught off guard by both the statement and the chilling edge she had given to the suffix on his name.

"_What_?"

"You are cursed…"she repeated, leaning forward as far as the restraints would permit to whisper to him in a silky voice.

"With the love of an Uchiha."

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A/N;

So hate me.

Despise me.

Live your fan fiction life in an unsightly way and send me a great long flame.

Hide behind an anonymous review and run and cling to your pathetic life.

…

I'm beating myself for the poor quality of this chapter as you can probably tell. The next chapter will be better… I may even rewrite this. I hate it.

Gomen…


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